SD tourism needs fatter wallets, not more 'heads in beds'

Panel looks at San Diego's economic prospects in light of plethora of low-paying tourism jobs

(Updated to indicate Susan Tinsky was president in 2011. John Lomac is president this year.)

Citizens Coordinate for Century 3, usually an environment-minded, good-government group, turned its attention to San Diego's job prospects Thursday and learned that tourism is fine - but freer-spending tourists are better.

Panelists Marney Cox, chief economist at the San Diego Association of Governments, and Erik Bruvold, president of the National University System's Institute for Policy Research, focused on tourism, because of its relatively low wage rates.

Cox said San Diego's standard of living in doubling at the rate of once every 70 years, compared with 35 years at the national level -- and he blamed that partly on the preponderance of the visitor industry in the local job market.

"We've been forcused on 'heads in beds' instead of wallets on the nightstand," Bruvold said. We need to think about the quality rather than the quantity."

He said theme park attractions draw day-visitors whereas a wine-centered attraction in San Diego and Temecula, on the order of Napa Valley and Santa Barbara, would draw bigger spenders.

The proposed convention center expansion is justified if it attracts medical conventions, Bruvold said, not events like Comic-Con that draw many thousands of visitors more but not many people who spend oodles on food, drink and hotels.

Cox said San Diego has spent millions of dollars on tourist infrastructure, starting with Mission Bay in the 1940s, but it really should be investing in improved transportation, energy generation and other systems that support high-paying job generators.

"Depending on your actions, public policy as well as infrastructure, it has an influence on what kind of jobs can grow an economy,influence the labor force and, in turn, impact the standard of living," Cox said.

San Diego State University economist Daniel Seiver, who acted as moderator, spoke of "sun dollars" that replace real dollars in terms of benefits San Diegans receive. But he also piped up in favor of low-paying jobs in one respect.

"Low-paying jobs are still a good deal," he said. "If you don't have a lot of skills and you're not prepared for a high-paying job, a low-paying job is better than no job."

One bit of infrastructure the panelists backed was a new airport, given that Lindbergh Field has limited capacity and Los Angeles is nearing capacity, as well.

Cox also spoke of ways to reduce the cost of living by making building permits for new homes quicker to obtain when demand grows.

"Without that, you create a gap and prices will rise back up," he said.

Susan Tinsky, last year's C3 president, said after the meeting that producing more affordable housing remains an important component.

"What is clear is that time and again, we're hearing from economists that the cost of housing is becoming a barrier to economic growth," said Tinsky, who heads the San Diego Housing Federation that represents the affordable-housing industry.

"The reality is regardless of if tourism and the hospitality industry pay higher wages, it will still be below a wage of what it costs to afford housing."